CMS Watch Typo3 Feed

The case against TypoScript

tbyrne@cmswatch.com(Tony Byrne) — Thu, 10 May 2007 17:22:00 -0400

Typo3 is a longstanding and very popular open source Web CMS. Although written in PHP, Typo3 employs its own declarative configuration language called "TypoScript" for templating. TypoScript's language and syntax are sufficiently complicated to merit an entire book on it. In our research for past several editions of The Web CMS Report, nearly every Typo3 developer or project manager we contacted told us privately they had a love/hate relationship with TypoScript. However, in blogosphere it seems like "love" has been prevailing. But then I happened across this comment: "I think TypoScript is a completely unnecessary atrocity." To be fair, many other Web CMS tools have their own scripting languages (e.g., Stellent's "iDoc") or use obscure tag libraries. Regardless of product, make sure to understand the long-term development implications of any package you select.

Open Source CMS Typo3 launches V4 with new look

info@jboye.dk(Janus Boye) — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 10:01:00 -0400

After an extended beta period, last week the Typo3 Association announced the official launch Version 4. As you would expect in a major release, there is a long list of new features and changes, such as workspace support, a new rich text editor, and improvements to search. Somewat underplayed in the release notes is a new default skin, including AJAX support for the editorial system -- curiously called the "Backend" in Typo3 lingo. As with other open source CMS platforms, Typo3 has traditionally had a steep learning curve, something that the community has tried to address in this release. Experience shows that it takes more than a new shiny look to make CMS tools easier to use, although this is clearly a step in the right direction.

Typo3 magazine hits the stands in Germany

info@jboye.dk(Janus Boye) — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 08:21:00 -0500

If you speak German, you can enjoy a new printed magazine about the open-source CMS, Typo3. In December, T3N Magazin came out with its second edition, featuring articles like "Typo3 version 4 preview" and "Load-balancing." Publishing a print magazine about a specific product is typically only something for IBM, Microsoft, or Oracle. I wish T3N good luck! If you prefer to read online there are also six Typo3 case studies on contentmanager.de (auf Deutsch), along with related articles and a list of Typo3 implementation partners. It seems to me that Europe is ahead of the pack when it comes to open-source CMS. Typo3 has a growing following (evidenced by the new magazine), but so do OpenCMS, Plone and eZ Publish as well.

Art History scholar looking for structure

Tony Byrne — Tue, 5 Apr 2005 00:00:00 -0400

Can you recommend an open-source DAM?

Learning about content management with Typo3

tbyrne@cmswatch.com(Tony Byrne) — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 06:00:00 -0500

One of the social benefits of open source packages is that anyone can download them and start learning -- not just about that platform -- but about content management systems in general. In our experience, this is particularly valuable for developers. For example, you can easily download Typo3, a popular PHP-based system, and run it on your laptop or local network (the installer will unpack Apache and MySQL if you don't already have). By playing around with the tool, you can learn a lot of CMS concepts, such as templating, user management, applying pre-set functions and components, embedding custom code snippets, and so on. Check out this sysadmin interface. For end-users, the story is a bit different. Editing content snippets in Typo3 seems easy enough. But an important bellweather for usability is how simply can a novice user create a new page. And here, Typo3 -- like most open-source CMS packages -- comes up a bit short out of the tarball. See, for example this screen. Of course, since usability is highly situational, your mileage will vary, but just remember that what's simple for the developer may remain complicated for the author. Our larger point, though: all software comes with its own benefits and quirks, but with open-source (and increasingly some commercial) tools, you can try before you commit -- and learn something along the way regardless...